Ken Farrington is the actor who played Billy Walker in Coronation Street. And next month sees the release of Ken's life story, in a book that's called Hush My Mouth. The book is being launched at TV Utopia this coming weekend and you can find out more here.
I was sent a preview copy of the book so that I could write a review of it here on the Coronation Street Blog. And so, here we go!
Well, the first thing to tell you is that I love reading autobiographies and biographies of famous people I enjoy watching on the big screen, on the telly or who are in the music business, so this book was right up my Street. I also enjoy those kind of books more when there's lots of gossip and behind the scenes news in them, so I wasn't disappointed in this book at all.
Ken's life as an actor is laid bare, and he's brutally honest about the profession, about himself and about his co-stars he worked with, including while working on Coronation Street. When he first auditioned for Corrie it was for the role of Dennis Tanner, which went to Philip Lowrie. But Corrie bosses were so impressed with Ken that they invited him back when they were looking to cast Annie Walker's son Billy. The rest, as they say, is history and Billy Walker went into the classic Corrie character book.
Life behind the scenes at Corrie in the early days is laid bare in Ken's book. It's full of egos, arguments and contains plenty of stories to put a smile on your face. Yes, Jack Howarth (Albert Tatlock) was as tight-fisted as you've heard. Yes, Margot Bryant (Minne Caldwell) could swear like a trooper and frequently did.
There are plenty of anecdotes about his co-stars from the 1960s such as Pat Phoenix (whom he didn't get on with) and Doris Speed (who he did). But it doesn't stop there. Ken mentions just about everyone he worked with at Corrie, both on and off screen, behind the scenes, in the cast and crew, leaving you in doubt what he thought of them all - good and bad.
And all the way through Ken's appearances as Billy Walker, you get the sense of Coronation Street as a show moving with the times, changing, responding to its audience and to the era it was in. Ken talks about the show taking in actors from the comedy and cabaret club circuit such as Lynne Perrie, Bill Tarmey and Liz Dawn.
Ken is brutally honest in this book, and you can take that whichever way you feel. It's gossipy, full of anecdotes and drama - and not always flattering about his co-stars or himself.
But is it worth buying? Most definitely, yes.
You can order the book here.
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